Positive school culture and strong relationships are important foundations for academic achievement, and are crucial in creating a bulwark against bullying to create safe spaces for students, writes Erin Hearn, Director of Social Emotional Learning for Uplift Education, a charter school network in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. One interesting tool the network uses is the Panorama Student Survey, which is completed biannually to gauge the quality of students’ relationships with their peers and teachers, among other social and emotional components. It also helps teachers and administrators pinpoint issues and concerns students are facing.
Additionally, the school network employs a Safe Space program, encouraging faculty whom are willing to intervene in a bullying situation to wear a pin that signifies their readiness to help (this is very interesting as this “readiness” is something not all teachers embrace, as other critics have recently noted). Staff training on diversity, equity and inclusion is also a component of their anti-bullying strategy. Moreover, the school is one of the pioneer districts using Rosalind Wiseman’s Owning Up curriculum. Owning Up teaches young people to understand their individual development in relation to group behavior, the influence of social media on their conflicts, and the dynamics that lead to bullying, discrimination, and bigotry.